Rise
by Iceshadow911247
Summary: With TwinMasters defeated and gone and the Hidden Kingdom in some sort of organized peaceful chaos, Rachel, otherwise known as Tai Ling, has left westward for any sort of land where she can forget and leave her past behind. But sometimes, you can't leave the past behind; it comes and follows you, bringing more trouble than one could ever expect.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm really sorry about the super long year long wait, guys. I hit high school, and then I hit a patch of writer's block.**

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"Witch!" I sprinted down the cobblestone road, dodging knives and pots. I swiftly clawed my way up an iron pipe on the side of a nearby house and swung myself onto the roof. I ran along the clay shingles a bit before I deemed that I had run long enough. I glanced down at the winged lizard in my hands. I spread open my fingers and let the tiny serpent fly away. I had saved the creature from one of the village-people. They hated dragons with a passion.

Yes, you heard me right. Dragons.

Here in the kingdom named Serpinta, dragons roamed the land. But they were few and hated by the people that populated the kingdom. For whatever reason, I had no idea. Serpinta lay west of the Hidden, Northern, and Southern kingdoms. A hierarchy used to rule the lands until the war in the Hidden Kingdom started, and the rulers here fell, too. The royal family had been lost, along with the heir to the throne.

But, anyways, back to the point. 'Witch' had almost because a second name to me, along with a few other choices words the villagers decided to throw at me. They townspeople despised me, and the feelings were very mutual in return. I was also called a thief, even though I had stolen nothing. They just had to find someone to blame for everything, and that someone just happened to be me.

Here in this kingdom, I was basically alone. My team from when I used to work for a man named Highroller had most likely stayed in the Hidden Kingdom. I have high doubts that they joined Big Green, and that they're mostly lying low, trying to get new lives thrown together. I honestly didn't know how they were; I broke off contact with them when the war ended, as everyone thought I had died. And it was honestly so much better that way, as much as I missed my teammates.

Redirecting my attention to where I was running, I leapt across the spaces between two houses, kicking a few shingles to the ground as I scrabbled for a grip with my boots. Continuing on my run, I raced over a few more roofs before I slowed down a bit and looked around. The lanterns around the village were all lit, which only happened during special occasions. I then realized that today was the day the 'Lord Protector' of the land was visiting. I literally spat from my vantage point. The Lord Protector was a coward who had ridden on the royal family's success, and was now leader only because he had fit originally had the title before the war started. I crept along the roofs as towards the main road of the village, where most of the people had gathered. There, in the middle of the path, was the Lord Protector, smiling and greeting townspeople like he actually cared. As the politician moved along the crowd, I followed by the rooftops. At one point I had lost sight of him as he passed under the overhang of a building, but found him in an alley a good five minutes later. The Lord Protector was being led by a cloaked man I had never noticed in the village before, and he seemed to be in a trance as the man stopped and stepped behind the politician.

"Your reign over this land is over. The new heir shall be found and they will lead this land into greatness once again." The cloaked man pulled out a large dagger and stabbed the Lord Protector through the back of the chest. I nearly vomited as I saw the other end of the blade sticking out the front of the politician's chest. The cloaked man instantly let go of the sword as the man fell, and sprinted into the darkness. I immediately jumped down onto the ground and crouched next to the fallen Lord Protector.

"Sir!?" I shook his shoulders. There was no response. Suddenly I was tackled to the side and pinned down.

"Guards! Over here! This girl killed the Lord Protector!" My face was shoved into the dirt. I instantly struggled and got a gasp of air.

"What!? No, I didn't! I found him like that! I swear!" I defended myself before I was shoved down again.

"Shut up, murderer!" I coughed as I tasted dust. "You've been caught red-handed!"

"Sir, what do we do now?" Another guard asked.

"We throw her in prison and send for the authority force from the Hidden Kingdom." Their captain ordered. My eyes widened; the 'authority force' would most likely be warriors from Big Green. I struggled to get up, hoping I could get away. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of the guards' swords flash, and my eyesight instantly turned to black as he slammed the handle of his sword against my temple.


	2. Chapter 2

**Smiles1998: :D Thank you! And I can't wait until your stories are updated!**

**Brightcloud0915: I'm glad you like it! ^-^**

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I woke up maybe about a day later. All I knew was that it was sunny outside and I was sitting in a cell. I stood and stretched, grimacing at the feeling of my stiff muscles. The stone cell gathered the warmth of the sun and heated the air. I looked through the small, barred window and saw the road at eye level; I was underground. I watched feet pass by, mainly armored boots and sandals, and a few uniquely styled ones. I knew I couldn't wait for long before the delegates from Big Green arrived and I figured, once they did, I'd be thrown in prison forever, but I knew I had to wait for the perfect chance to escape.

Said perfect chance came an hour later, when the road had cleared. I switched to my cougar form and started scratching at the rocks around the bars to try and dislodge it. I worked at it until my paws bled and ached, but I didn't give up; the stakes were too high as the sun started to set. I was making a little progress when some help from Mother Nature came along in the form of a small earth tremor, which caused the bars to loosen. I quickly licked my paws free of the grit that had embedded in my pads and switched to my human form, taking hold of two bars and yanking them free. Quietly dropping them on the floor of the cell, I switched back to feline form and leapt out the window, scrabbling with my back paws on the wall to give myself leverage. Finally freeing my hindquarters from the cell, I took off into the lengthening shadows of the buildings. After a few moments, of waiting for a few guards to pass, they walked into the prison. I quickly turned and scaled my way up a roof, quickly distancing myself from the building. However, I had only managed to run for a moment before and earth shattering _boom_ echoed throughout the valley; if anything, it had an after echo that sounded like a horn. With it came a massive earth tremor and I was thrown to the ground from the roof I had been on. The ground started to shaking, the tremors rippling through it like water. People started to pour out of the buildings they were in, and I darted through alleys, dodging falling pots and shingles before making my way to the forest. But the forest wasn't safe either; I dodged falling trees and panicked animals, nearly getting trampled. I managed to make my way to a nearby raised cliff that overlooked the valley and clawed my way up the sloped side of it. When I reached the top, I couldn't believe my eyes.

Now, the valley in which I had made my home was surrounded by inactive volcanoes, at least three or four. But I could see that was now a lie. Lava erupted and shot into the air from each volcano, and I counted about five plumes of ash and smoke. The lava rolled down the slopes of the volcanoes and into the valley, setting all it could reach ablaze. I tightened my claws into the rocks beneath me as another earthquake rocked the land, causing the volcanoes to spew out more lava. Animals and humans darted away from the oncoming flows as I watched helplessly. I was never a helper, but I desperately wanted to aid those, yet I couldn't tear my gaze away. Another boom shattered the air and I pinned my ears back, flinching at the horrible noise level. Before my eyes, on the northwest side of the valley rim, the earth cracked apart in a jagged hole, collapsing the forest and everything else in that area into a large crack in the ground. The earthquake pushed the jagged slash in the earth farther along the valley, before ending about a fourth into the valley. Then, to add to my current disbelief, the east side of the valley's rim shattered outward in an explosion of magma and rock. I ducked instinctively, though no rocks came near me, fortunately. But I couldn't say the same for the rest of the valley as rocks and ash rained down. I hunkered down, peering over the crest of the cliff to watch again when I was suddenly blasted with a wave heat, and the earth roared again with another quake. I screwed my eyes shut against the heat and backed away, getting another faceful of wind and ash. I quickly turned away, sneezing a few times. Opening my eyes once more, I saw the forest behind me in flames. My paws spurred into action before my mind comprehended it, and I raced through an unburned part of the forest, racing the flames to escape. I vaguely remembered a small passage to the outside of the valley to the southwest and headed there, kicking up dust and ash. The earth bucked under my paws and threw my up into the air before I landed hard, the breath knocked from my lungs. I gasped, trying to breathe and only got a lungful of ash and dust, making me sneeze once more. I felt light headed, and scrambled dizzily to my paws, dashing ungracefully away from the flames licking at my tail. Feeling an ember land on my hind leg, I only ran faster.

It took my maybe about ten minutes to get to the pass, and wailed out loud when I saw the pass covered in lava. Turning to face the fire behind me and then looking back at the lava, I felt the heat surround me. The ash and smoke in the air made it hard to breathe. I hadn't noticed it before, but my vision was blurring. Turning to look at the wall, I made out a small path, most likely made my mountain goats. I refused to die here; I took a leap of faith over a small stream of lava and dug my claws into the small ridge before pushing myself up the steep rock wall. Another tremor nearly knocked me off the cliff and into the lava, and the adrenaline rush of fear gave me the energy to force myself up the rock wall once more. After a few minutes of climbing, I reached another path, this one larger, and quickly walked along it to hopefully reach a part of the pass that wasn't submerged in lava. I repeatedly dodged falling rocks, holding in my fear. The end of the ledge I was on dropped off and I peered at the ground, noting about seven feet of lava before I saw the stone of the pass. I took a deep breath and coughed, instantly regretting the idea, before steeling my nerves and leaping from the edge of the ledge. Landing about a foot away from the river of lava I stumbled and rolled before springing to my feet and running through the pass. Rocks littered the area, and I often had to jump and climb over the piles when the pass became narrow and the rocks had walled up the space. Coming to the end of the pass, I peered out and my shoulders slumped at what I saw; the outside forest was also on fire.

I paced rapidly at the edge of the pass before leaping down a short fall onto the forest floor and darting quickly through the burning forest, the acrid burning smell of the green leaves and plants choking my lungs. My eyes started to burn with the heat, and I blinked rapidly to clear and relieve my eyes, which only provided a tiny length of comfort. I started to become light headed and short of breath, which only caused me to take in deeper breaths of the smoky air. I pushed my muscles to their extent to try and race the flames once more, my instincts screaming at me to escape. My vision continued to worsen, and I found this out when I ran into a wall of flames. I instantly lurched away in pain and raced through the darkening forest, eyes wide in fear. It was only pure luck in which I found a clearing with a pond. Without even a second thought, I leapt into it to douse the flames. Whimpering, I licked my scorched fur and grimaced and the acrid taste before lapping at the water. It was grainy with ash, but it was better than nothing. Once I'd regained my breath, I coughed rapidly and looked around. It was then that I noticed something pelting my back, and looked to see a few drops of rain. Within moments, the few drops turned into a downpour, turning the burning scent worse as it started to kill the flames. Pushing myself forward, I left the pond and ran off again into an untouched part of the forest. In a few minutes, I reached a plain and noticed a pile of rocks in the middle. I moved over and leapt onto the highest rocks and judged the distance of the flames. Most of the fires outside the valley had been stopped by the torrent of rain, and most of what I saw was smoke. However, looking beyond the valley's walls, smoke still rose, making it look like the valley was just a giant, smoking volcano. I gained my breath, drinking in the clearing air, and sat down heavily, watching the smoke rise. After a while, I inspected my fur and saw the pond had only made the ash thick and clumpy, as most of it was still stuck to my pelt, and some of the fur was singed black from when I'd caught fire. Finally noticing my exhaustion, I laid down on the rock and splayed out, too tired to even care about the rain; I hope it would wash the ash off of me.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, look! And update from me!**

**Smiles1998: A) There will be a logical explanation for this, I swear. B) I KNOW RIGHT?**

**Brightcloud0915: Thank you for the review. I'm not sure if I'll use the characters, but I will keep them in mind should I need any extra characters.**

**Cahaya Nightdreamer: There will be an explanation, I promise! O3O But it will be later in the story.**

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I slept on that rock for at least a day. When I woke, the rain had come and gone, and the fires outside the valley were out, yet still smoking. I stood and stretched stiffly, noting my pelt was still matted with fresh ash. Looking up, I saw ash falling heavily from the sky. Sighing, I jumped down and shook my pelt, sneezing when ash floated up, disturbed by my paws. I desperately needed something to eat, and fresh water to drink, so I headed away from the valley. It took me two hours to find water and, when I did, it was muddy and dirty, but it was better than nothing, so I drank a bit. Afterward, I scented the air, but there was nothing but the scent of smoke. Heading on, I tried to escape the ash to try and find some sort of animal. I spent all day hunting, but I managed to find an antelope that'd suffocated and fallen in the ash. It helped quell my hunger and I headed back to the rocks I'd slept on. I spent another night there, my face stuffed against my chest fur.

The next morning was the same; ash still fell. I headed back into the forest, finding a clump of gorse and winding myself through it, managing to scrape off quite a bit of the ash on my pelt. I waited a while, searching for water, before heading back up to the mountain pass to see what the valley looked like now. I climbed up the pass and weaved in between and around boulders. Molten lava still flowed slowly across the path, and I was left with the choice of jumping it or climbing a shaky pile of boulders over it. I chose the boulders and, after nearly falling a few times, jumped down shakily to flat ground. Searching for a vantage point, I found a small trail going up the valley wall and followed it, reaching the top after about fifteen minutes of climbing. My eyes widened in horror with I saw the state of the valley.

The volcanoes were still smoking and pouring lava. The entire east end of the valley was either covered in lava or blackened shells of trees. In the northwest, the great crack in the ground had widened, swallowing up anything in that area. I looked in the direction of the village and watched as smoke rose from it. I carefully maneuvered down the trail once more and headed into the forest. The first sight I saw was only just a small part of the horror that had come upon the land; it was a fox, crushed under a large boulder that had fallen. I moved away quickly from the scene and headed towards the village. I often had to move around small brushfires and rivulets of lava. It was like when TwinMasters had taken over for that short time in the Hidden Kingdom; everything was either dead, destroyed, or unlucky enough to be alive. It took me an hour filled with detours to find the village, and I quietly walked through the streets. I scented the original people that had been here, but saw no one. They had obviously evacuated. Continuing on my way, I looked down when my paw brushed something. My heart nearly broke into pieces at what I saw; there was a little girl's doll lying in the ash. What made it worse was that I recognized who it belonged to. When I had first come to the valley and the village, there had been a little girl who'd been smitten with me, and had always wanted to pet me and give me some sort of treat before I became a 'threat' to the village and her mother had always drawn her close when I neared. I sat down and sniffed the doll; the little girl's scent was still on it. I sniffed around for a bit before finding the scent trail the villagers' had left, obviously their route of evacuation. Turning around and gently picking up the doll in my jaws, I headed in the direction of the scent trail.

The trail led me south, the least destroyed part of the valley, over fallen trees and dammed rivers, over boulders and more lava. I didn't reach the south end of the valley until sunset, and it took me another two hours to find where the humans had gone. When I found them, I instantly felt pity for them, which was strange for someone like me. There were about twenty five of them huddling around a fire; rather ironic, as fire was the reason they were forced to leave their village. I crept around in the shadows, my eyes searching the camp for the little girl. I finally spotted her, crying and clinging to her mother. I sat down to wait until nightfall, when the mother put her daughter down to bed in a small shelter. Once she was gone, I crept into the shelter and laid the doll by the girl's side and quietly crept back out. I'll admit, I was glad to know the little girl and her mother were safe, and that at least some of the villagers had survived.

I headed away from the small encampment; there wasn't anything else I could do for them. I avoided the smokiest areas of the forests, but it was impossible to escape the scent of smoke completely. At a loss of what to do, I headed back to the south western pass to get out of the valley. When I reached the pass, a good majority of it was still covered in lava, so I skirted it by using the same ridges which I had used to get out. With the light of day and without the earthquakes, I was able to get out much more quickly.

I trotted quietly across the ashen plane, my paws throwing up small puffs of dust and making me sneeze. Sighing, I came upon the rock I'd slept on and sat on it, brushing drifts of ash off. The landscape looked as dreary as Yeshai's sense of humor. I paused in thought, remembering the tiger. It'd been a long time since I'd seen him, or any other of my teammates. I laid down on the rock, burying my face in my paws. I missed them.

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The next day passed in a blur. When I woke the day after, the air seemed somewhat clearer, yet ash still rained down. It had darted to pile up in tall drifts. I found this out when I jumped down from my rock and fell shoulder deep in ash. Grunting, I jumped back onto the rock and shook my pelt, but the ash clumped heavily in my fur. This would have annoyed me, until the thought of clumping ash immediately fled my mind as I watched the horizon. Great trails of ash were being tossed into the air by some force. I squinted, trying to make out the source of the ash trails. Upon seeing them, I almost fell off my rock.

It was the forces of Big Green, on their turtles. I instantly ducked behind the rock, crouching low against the side and being thankful for the drifts, for once. According to them, I was still a fugitive, I think. However, once they passed, I caught snippets of their conversation.

"It doesn't look too bad."

"We're not inside the valley yet."

And a few more conversations.

"-think anyone survived?"

"It's a good thing we were already heading here."

"-think they really found her?"

"War criminals can't run forever."

I cursed inwardly; they _had_ been on their way here to arrest me; only the catastrophe had put me at the bottom of the list of their biggest problems. I pressed myself against the ash as they passed and prayed I wouldn't be seen; luckily, I wasn't. I was about to peer over the rock and judge the distance they had traveled until another group of voices hit my ears. I recognized these, as well; all too well.

"I 'ate this crap!" A snappish voice snarled.

"You hate everything, Yeshai." A deeper once responded.

"How do you think I feel? At least you all are taller than this!" A third voice spoke.

I almost jumped over the rock in glee, but composed myself. Despite my team being just beyond the rock, I couldn't risk being seen; not when I had just managed to escape being arrested. But their appearance made me wonder why they were working with our former sworn enemies. Once their voices had faded, I risked a glance over the rock. Aslan, Yeshai, and Gray were slowly following the members of Big Green. I sighed softly and sat beside the rock, once more out of sight before I moved to follow them. Creeping along the ground, I was suddenly glad for the ash shielding my coat as I shuffled along behind them. I watched the group disappear into the trail I often used, which was understandable, since the surrounding rock walls were nearly vertical as they rose into the sky. However, waiting until I was sure they had made it into the valley was agonizing; the air had grown cold due to the clouds of ash covering the sun, and the gritty taste of ash seemed to be a constant element in my mouth. I waited fifteen minutes in silence before jumping to my paws and leaping rather ungracefully across the plain, kicking up large clouds of ash as I did so.

Once my paws found the solid rock ground of the pass, I only slightly relaxed. I bounded further across the pass, and noticed the lava flow had cooled and hardened completely. But, nonetheless, I still padded across it warily; I didn't particularly like the thought of being dumped into lava. After crossing the black rock and skittering nervously away from it into the blackened brush, I looked around for any sign of life and spotted the normal tracks of turtles. There was something I needed to do before I hid away. Upon following the tracks, I eventually came upon my team and First Squad, who were discussing what to do next.

As much as the natives hated me, I had a soft spot for the people of the valley, and I refused to let them stay in this wretched place. With that idea in mind, I headed towards the direction of where the refugee camp was and waited on the other side of the group, where I climbed a tree. Luckily, the ash coating my fur disguised me as a normal puma, as the leaves were black and burnt, offering only a little cover. As I settled onto a branch, I snapped a brittle twig between my paws, and every gaze below me turned skyward. I was almost instantly spotted.

"Hey!" Mighty Ray called loudly.

"Who are you?" Lin Chung pointed his bamboo stick warily at my, and it took all my self control not to respond with a sarcastic comment. Instead, I leapt to the next tree and waited, glancing back at them. However, none of them moved. I lashed my tail in annoyance and snapped another twig before leaping to a third tree.

"… I think she wants us to follow her." Gray stated, tilting his head to the side. I nodded to show confirmation, and they moved forward to follow me. After getting their attention, I kept a fast pace through the trees until I led them to the refugee camp, in which the members of First Squad instantly moved forward to help the people. After watching to make sure they were doing their job, I turned and fled through a few more trees until I was ungracefully tossed to the ground by a branch that snapped under my weight. As I gathered my composure, I headed off to the north. Perhaps there were more villagers to help.

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**Whueee, a new chapter. :D I hope this isn't too boring a chapter, guys. I wrote it to kill some writer's block. ;-;**

**And what's this? Is Rachel actually feeling compassion? O3O**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the late update, guys. I went on an eight day trip and then I put off typing for a while, and then school started and I got lazy. :D**

**Brightloud0915: Thank you! :D**

**Smiles1998: Yes, Rachel does have feelings. Strange concept, no? :3 And, speaking of Yeshai, his lack of optimism shall return as well. And thank you!**

**Cahaya Nightdreamer: You'll have to keep reading and find out if there are more villagers. And thank you so much! That means a ton to me! :D**

**Transformerspup246: Hey! What are you doing here? This isn't your fandom! U But, glad you like it, sister! O3O**

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I traveled for the rest of the day, putting some distance between myself and First Squad. I noticed neither Dazaan nor Azaan were with my former team. My heart constricted in worry; I hoped they were still alive. My thoughts were interrupted when I suddenly heard voices. Ducking down into the sparse undergrowth, I listened in and recognized Yeshai. My heart jolted nervously; how did they get up north so quickly?"

"So… any word from yer siblin's?" Yeshai asked quietly.

"Gone. Taken out during TwinMasters' rule." Aslan responded, almost inaudibly. I winced, my heart going out to him in sympathy. His siblings had helped us steal a medallion from Big Green before the war ended.

"Bloody 'ell…" Yeshai sighed. "So, they're gone, and what 'bout Rachel's boys? Azaan and Dazaan?"

"Gone, too. Lost in a landslide." Aslan answered. I froze in place, eyes widening as my heart constricted in grief. Azaan and Dazaan were two of the three remaining lion cubs I had taken in. Their older brother had died during the war, but I hadn't expected to hear that the remaining two were gone, as well. However, as much as I wanted to break down and cry, I couldn't. I had to get away as quickly as possible. I turned on my paws and quickly crept off, keeping low to the ground. Unfortunately, I met a large river of lava slowly making its way across the ground. I knew I couldn't double back, so I kept a safe distance from the area before suddenly getting an idea.

When I was young, I had discovered that I'd had a small elemental control over ice. However, I had no idea how I got it; I always assumed I'd been born with it. Remembering this power, I cautiously approached the river of lava, my paws creating a small line of ice as I traveled over the ground; the heat became intense, but the ice kept it to a bearable temperature. Reaching the edge of the river of lava, I willed my courage and leapt. As my paws hit the surface of the lava, a thin layer of ice shielded me from jumping headfirst into death; despite the temporary coolness, it gave me a enough purchase to leap across the river and land safely on the other side where I collapsed, panting more out of stress than exhaustion. After a few minutes, I got back on my paws and headed off quickly. The only sounds were my paw steps breaking through scorched grass. I shuddered at the unnatural silence. I had only heard silence like this before, during TwinMasters' short reign in the Hidden Kingdom when he had destroyed nearly everything. Upon that memory brought another one, where I had nearly died. I have no idea how I survived a sword to the chest, but something saved me. I know it wasn't Dragonsong, the leader of the Dragon Clan in the mountains of the Northern Kingdom. No, there was something else in that ice cave she'd taken me to in her palace.

I was suddenly snapped out of my reverie by faint voices behind me. I turned to listen, silent. The dead silence of the world allowed noise to travel so much farther, and I heard what the discussion was.

"Why in the world is there ice here, near lava?" I recognized the voice as Gray. No doubt my former team had found my trail. I cursed myself for leaving evidence. But, since I knew the lava river would give me time, I took off through the forest, kicking up ash and dust in my wake. I sped along before the ground underneath me suddenly collapsed and I disappeared into the ground. After tumbling a few times I hit the ground with a thud.

"Ow…" I looked up, dazed, and saw that I was in a cavern. No doubt the earthquake weakened the ground above it and any good amount of pressure would've made it collapse. That good amount of pressure, unfortunately, was me. Staggering to my paws, I quickly explored the edges of the cavern, searching for a way out. Unfortunately, I found none. The sides of the cavern were smooth, probably eroded by some long ago river. My eyes searched for some form of salvation, some way out. I wasn't going to die in some hole in the ground or starve to death. Starting to pace, I continued to search for a way out. This continued for about ten minutes before I heard scuffling above me and shadows were cast along the edge of the ridge, and I looked up. I spotted there, on the edge, Aslan, Yeshai, and Gray. My hopes soared, half from seeing a form of help, half from just being able to see them after so long.

"Need help?" Gray called.

"Please," I nodded, quieting my voice so they would've recognized it. Luckily for me, ash had still stuck to my pelt, giving it a dusky gray look; they obviously hadn't recognized me by colors or form, yet.

"Move back," Yeshai grunted and stomped at the edge of the ridge. There were a few moments of nothing before the side of the ridge crumpled down, causing an incline. I quickly made my way towards it and climbed quickly up the rocky side.

"Thank you," I nodded stiffly to them. Surely, they'd recognize me now, being this close.

"You're welcome," Aslan nodded. I was wrong; they hadn't noticed it was me, yet. "What are you doing this far north? All the survivors have gone south."

"I'm looking for more survivors," I admitted. I noticed Gray giving me a musing look out of the corner of my eye, but ignored it.

"We're from the east; let us help ya." Yeshai offered.

"No, I'll be fine on my own." I quickly shook my head; too quickly, for my liking.

"Then at least let us chat for a night, shall we?" Gray suddenly suggested. He was up to something, I just knew it.

"Fine." I nodded. Gray suddenly turned to lead the way, walking a ways farther north. I didn't know this end of the valley as well. The tom cat led the way over a small, stream. Out of some strange stroke of luck, it wasn't as clouded with ash, and I knelt down to lap from it. Something suddenly hit me from the side and knocked me into the water, the running water washing over my pelt. Struggling to my paws, I quickly shook myself out.

"I knew it!" Gray hissed. Aslan and Yeshai stared at me, eyes wide. I looked at myself, starting when I saw that the ash had been swept from my pelt, showing off the gray and black fur beneath. "Where the hell have you been, Rachel?!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Look at that cover I drew! :D Isn't it bootiful?**

**And really sorry for the extremely late post. I had a **_**horrible**_** case of writer's block. Also, around the middle of the chapter, it's probably going to be really bad writing, at least in my opinion, it is. :P**

**Also, can I have some opinions on this idea?  
I'm considering changing Aslan's name. It can be confusing if someone watches Narnia, since the two characters have nothing in common.**

**Review:**

**Smiles1998: I will update as soon as possible! :D**

**Cahaya Nightdreamer: Yes, Rachel is very much busted. :D How will she explain this one?**

**Brightcloud0915: True point, but when has anything ever worked out in Rachel's favor? :3**

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I was silent as the three barraged me with questions. I couldn't blame them for being angry. After all, I had let them think I was dead this entire time. I waited a few moments before I finally spoke.

"Okay, enough with the questions. Let me speak," I sighed wearily and sat down. Gray and Yeshai glared at me, while Aslan's gaze was unreadable. If anything, that was worse than him being angry with me. "After I'd told you to leave while TwinMasters hunted us, he found me." She began. "He killed me, or so he thought." She watched their reactions, which didn't change much. "I was saved by that Clan of tigers we'd tried to recruit in the mountains. I don't know how I survived being stabbed in the chest, but I did. When I'd woken and was recovered enough, I returned south. By that time, TwinMasters was already defeated. I'd found you, actually, but I decided that I shouldn't have returned. It was easier if I wasn't a wanted enemy of the public."

"Ya still are." Yeshai grunted.

"I know. I realized that when I was arrested in a village here. That was when they called First Squad."

"And all that distracted them from arresting you was the volcanic eruption." Aslan finished. I nodded in confirmation.

"I'm half tempted to turn you in." Gray spat. "But I won't."

"Thanks." I said, deadpanning just a bit, but I was pretty grateful that he wasn't going to arrest me.

"What now?" Yeshai asked.

"I'm going to head north to try and find more survivors." I answered quietly.

"From what I've gathered," Aslan sighed. "Not many, if any at all, would've survived in the north, due to the lava flow and earthquake."

"Well, I'm not going to First Squad." I flattened my ears, stubborn.

"I didn't expect you to." Aslan stood. "But, we have to get back."

"And what will you tell them?" I watched them quietly.

"That we found nothing." Aslan nodded.

"But-" Gray started, but Aslan silenced him with a look.

"… alright." I nodded quietly, pausing for a moment. "… is it true? Azaan and Dazaan are dead?" All three went quiet before Yeshai nodded, confirming it. I, too, went quiet, the grief slamming into my stomach once more.

"I'm sorry," Aslan stated quietly, and I nodded, about to speak when the bushes to our right rustled. Aslan jolted, startled. "First Squad. Go, _now!_" I didn't even take a moment to comprehend what he'd said before I darted out of sight, racing into the dusty forest. I ran for a few good minutes before pausing, relaxing when I heard no sounds of pursuit behind me.

***\\./*\\./*\\./***

Two days later, I had made it to the north slopes of the mountains, with no sign of life whatsoever. The ash was heavier, here, so I'd been forced to change to my human form, which had my cloak. I used some cloth from my shirt to create a rag across my nose and mouth to block out the ash so I didn't breathe it in. The lava flows were also more frequent, causing me to backtrack and find a different route.

Early in the morning on the third day, I was trekking up a steep incline, just to the east of the largest volcano. However, my traveling was made easier due to a small, path-like trail along the ridge. The air was cold and dry, due to the ash blocking out the sun. I was just wondering when the sun would come back when small white particles started to fill the air; snow.

"Damn," I cursed, pulling my cloak closer around my shoulders. I looked around quickly for a place to shelter, and saw a small cave entrance. Hopefully, it'd have a small puddle in it. I needed water; some that wasn't clogged with ash. I soon ducked into the small cave, waiting until my eyes adjusted before moving on. The cave sloped downward, farther into the mountain. I traveled for ten minutes until my foot splashed into something cold; water. I quickly knelt down and dunked my hands in the water, drinking it. Luckily for me, it wasn't ashy. I drank for a good five minutes, waiting for my strength to recover. Leaning on the wall, I took off my mouth-rag, sighing and shutting my eyes. When I woke a few hours later, it was dark. Standing and stretching, I shifted to my lioness form and drank a few more mouthfuls of water before heading off down the tunnel. Might as well explore while I'm there, right? As my eyes adjusted, I noticed the cave became drier and drier. The stone underneath my paws was worn smoothly. Suddenly, I felt the cave open up around me and turn into a cavern. Looking around, I noticed the cavern walls were covered in paintings and, upon further inspection, there were candles all around the edges of the cave.

I shifted to my human form and inspected the candles. They were cracked and hardened with age, but the wicks still stood. However, the candles were nothing to me unless I could find a flint. This goal became my new mission, and I hunted the entire cavern until I found a small pile of the stones, almost as if they'd been left there specifically.

It took me five full minutes to manage to light a spark, and then another five minutes to land a spark on the wick. When the candle was lit, I moved around the cavern in a circle, lighting the other candles to produce more light. The cavern was soon aglow with the candles, and I then noticed there were cave drawings all over the walls.

The drawings covered the walls of the cave from the floor to the ceiling, each depicting various scenes. Towards the side of the cave I had entered from, from my angle I could see that one side had drawings, while the other didn't. I assumed the side with the drawings was the beginning of the whole lot. I approached the wall and looked upon the drawings, quiet. They were covered in beautifully painted dragons, and other mythical creatures I had only heard of in legends. I traced a few fingers over a white gryphon and expected the material to rub off onto my fingers, but the white pastel-like material stayed on the wall. As I continued to inspect the drawings, I slowly wound my way around the cave. Most of the painted scenes depicted mountains surrounding the valley. _Perhaps it's a recorded history…? _I mused, until a new picture farther along caught my attention. It showed various depictions of humans. The pictures continued along the wall from floor to ceiling, until the human pictures dwindled and suddenly those pictures were replaced with another scene of the valley. The next picture showed more humans, but they were scattered as small dots around a painted copy of the valley. I continued looking until yet another picture of the valley made me stop. The picture depicted a horrific volcanic eruption, almost exactly like the one that just happened to the valley. A little unnerved, I moved on, looking at the paintings when another one caught my attention, and this one startled me. It was a sketching of a woman, and it looked just like…

"So, you finally found this place." A voice spoke behind me and I whirled around, eyes wide. A man stood before me, removing a hood from his head. It took me a few long moments before I actually recognized him.

"You're the one that murdered the Lord Protector!" I stepped back, suspicious. The cloaked man shrugged.

"It needed to be done." He approached me. "If you haven't noticed, this cavern holds a painted history of the valley." He motioned with a hand to the surrounding cavern, almost seeming like he was bored. "And, if you haven't noticed," he pointed to the picture of the woman. "That's you."

***\\./*\\./*\\./***

**There we go, a chapter finished!**


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